The Nazi Regime (1933–1945): Comprehensive Study Notes
Welcome to the most intense and complex part of the Germany Depth Study! This chapter explains how Hitler and the Nazi Party, having taken power in 1933, maintained absolute control over Germany for 12 years. We will look at the tools they used—from secret police and concentration camps to propaganda and strict rules for youth and women—and what it was truly like to live under this totalitarian state.
Don't worry if the number of new names and institutions seems overwhelming at first. We will break down Hitler’s methods of control into simple systems!
1. Establishing the Control Apparatus (1933–1934 Review)
Before studying how the Nazis controlled Germany, let’s quickly recap the steps Hitler took to destroy democracy (covered in the previous chapter) and become the unchallenged dictator (the Führer).
How Hitler Solidified his Dictatorship:
- The Reichstag Fire (February 1933): Blamed on Communists, this event allowed Hitler to pass the Decree for the Protection of People and State, suspending all civil liberties (freedom of speech, assembly, etc.). This was the start of the police state.
- The Enabling Act (March 1933): This key law effectively gave Hitler the power to make laws without consulting the Reichstag or the President. It was the legal end of the Weimar Republic.
- The Night of the Long Knives (June 1934): Hitler used the SS to murder the leaders of the SA (Stormtroopers), including Ernst Röhm. This eliminated a key internal rival and showed everyone (including the Army) that Hitler was ruthless and completely in charge.
- Death of Hindenburg (August 1934): When President Hindenburg died, Hitler immediately merged the offices of Chancellor and President, declaring himself Führer and Reich Chancellor. All soldiers and civil servants now swore a personal oath of loyalty to Hitler.
Key Takeaway: By late 1934, Hitler had successfully removed all legal, political, and internal obstacles, transforming Germany into a one-party state run by fear and terror.
2. How the Nazis Controlled Germany: The Police State
Control under the Nazis was based on two things: terror and repression (to punish opposition) and propaganda and persuasion (to win loyalty).
(a) Methods of Control and Repression
The entire control structure was overseen by Heinrich Himmler and the SS (Schutzstaffel – Protection Squad). The SS ran the police state.
- The SS (Schutzstaffel): Originally Hitler’s personal bodyguard, it grew into a massive organisation responsible for internal security, intelligence, and running the concentration camps. They were considered the racial elite of the Nazi regime.
- The Gestapo (Secret State Police): The key instrument of terror. The Gestapo wore plain clothes and relied heavily on informants (people telling on their neighbours). They could arrest, imprison, and torture people without trial. Analogy: If the SS is the security company running the whole operation, the Gestapo is the secret surveillance camera hidden everywhere.
- Concentration Camps: These were established immediately after 1933 to detain political opponents (Communists, Socialists) without trial. Later, they held 'undesirables' like homosexuals, Gypsies, and Jews. They acted as a powerful warning to anyone thinking of speaking out.
- The Justice System: Hitler abolished fair trials. Judges had to swear loyalty to the Nazis, and separate People's Courts were set up for political crimes, ensuring opponents received harsh sentences.
Totalitarian State? Yes. A totalitarian state controls every aspect of life—political, economic, social, and cultural. Because the Nazis used a vast network of terror (Gestapo, SS, camps) and controlled all communication, Germany was clearly a totalitarian state.
Quick Review: The Terror Team
S S: Hitler's Elite (ran the camps)
G estapo: Secret Police (caught the enemies)
C amps: Punishment/Fear (silenced dissent)
(b) Opposition to the Nazi Regime
How much opposition was there? Very little, and what existed was highly fragmented and dangerous.
- Political Opposition: All political parties were banned after 1933. Remaining Socialists and Communists operated in tiny, secretive cells, but the Gestapo quickly crushed them.
- Youth Opposition: Some youth groups rejected the Hitler Youth. Examples include the Edelweiss Pirates (working-class) and the White Rose Group (students who printed anti-Nazi leaflets, executed in 1943).
- Church Opposition: Some priests (like Pastor Niemöller, who started the Confessing Church) spoke out against Nazi racism, but most churches either cooperated or remained silent to survive.
- Army Opposition: The Army leadership was generally conservative but disliked Hitler’s extreme policies. The most significant opposition came later (1944) with the July Bomb Plot, an attempt to assassinate Hitler, which failed and resulted in mass executions.
Key Takeaway: The terror machine was so effective that widespread, organised opposition was impossible. Most resistance was small-scale and led to execution or imprisonment.
3. The Use of Culture and Mass Media (Propaganda)
The Nazis needed people to not just fear them, but to believe in them. This was the job of the Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, led by Joseph Goebbels.
- Censorship: All communication was controlled. Newspapers were tightly censored, and media deemed ‘un-German’ (like jazz music, modern art, or books by Jewish authors) were banned or burned.
- Mass Media: The Nazis mass-produced cheap radios (the Volksempfänger or 'People's Receiver') to ensure Hitler's speeches reached almost every home. Loudspeakers played Hitler’s broadcasts in public squares.
- Rallies and Spectacles: Huge rallies, especially the annual event in Nuremberg, used flags, parades, and theatrical lighting to give Germans a sense of national pride and collective power.
- Culture: Art, architecture, and film promoted Nazi ideals—heroic Aryan figures, traditional family roles, and the strength of the Führer.
Did you know? Goebbels used film extensively. All films had to contain an underlying Nazi message, and he often attended cinema showings to gauge public reaction.
Key Takeaway: Propaganda created the myth of the successful Führer and convinced many Germans that they belonged to a superior national community (the Volksgemeinschaft).
4. Life in Nazi Germany: Conformity and Compliance
The Nazis sought to mould German society to fit their specific ideological needs. Their policies targeted key groups: youth, women, and workers.
(a) Youth and Education
Hitler believed the future of the Reich lay in the youth. Schools and youth movements were used to indoctrinate children completely.
- Education Changes: Textbooks were rewritten to teach Nazi racial theory (anti-Semitism) and the 'glory' of German history. Boys were trained in military skills; girls were trained in motherhood and domestic skills.
- The Hitler Youth (HJ): By 1939, membership was virtually compulsory for Aryan children aged 10 and up. It taught loyalty to Hitler, physical fitness, and military discipline (for boys). For many, especially working-class boys, the HJ provided status, uniforms, and exciting activities (like camping), making it genuinely popular initially.
- League of German Maidens (BDM): The female wing focused on preparation for motherhood and loyalty to the regime.
(b) Women and the Family
Nazi policy towards women was simple: they should stay home, have as many children as possible, and support their Aryan husbands. This was summed up in the phrase: Kinder, Küche, Kirche (Children, Kitchen, Church).
- Policies to encourage birth rate: Loans were given to newly married couples if the woman left her job. Mothers with many children received medals (e.g., the Gold Cross for eight children). Abortion and contraception were restricted.
- Contradiction: While initially trying to remove women from the workforce, the demand for labour during the rearmament boom and, later, the war forced the Nazis to reverse these policies and actively encourage women back into factories.
(c) Economic Policy and Rearmament
The main goal of Nazi economic policy was Rearmament (building up the army, navy, and air force) and preparing for war. This was incredibly popular because it solved the devastating unemployment crisis.
- Job Creation: Unemployment fell from six million in 1933 to almost zero by 1939, primarily through conscription (forced military service), rearmament factories, and public works (like building the Autobahns, the German highways).
- The German Labour Front (DAF): This replaced banned trade unions. It controlled wages and hours. Workers lost the right to strike or negotiate for better pay.
- Strength Through Joy (KdF): A state-run leisure organisation that provided cheap holidays, theatre tickets, and sports events to keep workers happy and compliant (A form of social control).
- Autarky: The Nazis aimed for economic self-sufficiency, meaning Germany should rely only on its own resources to prepare for war, but this was never fully achieved.
Did most people benefit? This is a common exam question! Many Germans *felt* they benefited because the chaos of the depression and unemployment ended. However, this came at the cost of personal freedom, low wages, and the horrific persecution of minorities.
Key Takeaway: The Nazis traded economic stability and national pride for the total control of public and private life, using social policies (Youth, Women) to enforce ideological conformity.
5. Persecution and Anti-Semitism
The Nazis believed in racial hierarchy, with the 'Aryan' race at the top. Anyone deemed 'racially inferior' or 'unfit' was persecuted. This included Gypsies, disabled people, homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and, most centrally, Jews.
(a) The Stages of Anti-Semitism (Persecution of the Jews)
The persecution of Jews was systematic and incremental, moving from discrimination to extermination.
- Exclusion (1933–1935): Jewish people were immediately excluded from civil service jobs, German universities, and government positions. The SA organized nationwide boycotts of Jewish shops in 1933.
- Legal Discrimination (1935): The Nuremberg Laws were the legal turning point.
- The Reich Citizenship Law stripped Jews of their German citizenship.
- The Law for the Protection of German Blood and Honour forbade marriage or sexual relations between Jews and non-Jewish Germans.
- Violence and Terror (1938): Kristallnacht (The Night of Broken Glass) in November 1938 saw Nazi gangs (SS, Gestapo, and civilians) destroy thousands of Jewish businesses, synagogues, and homes across Germany. About 30,000 Jewish men were sent to concentration camps. This marked the shift from legal discrimination to open state violence.
- Forced Isolation: After 1938, Jews were fined for the damage of Kristallnacht, forced to wear the Star of David, and increasingly forced out of public life and into segregated housing (ghettos).
Key Takeaway: Anti-Semitism was not a side issue; it was central to Nazi ideology and was implemented step-by-step to isolate and dehumanise the Jewish population before the war began.
6. The Impact of the Second World War (1939–1945)
The war changed the dynamics of control and accelerated the pace of persecution.
(a) Conversion to a War Economy
After initial successes (1939–41), the war began to turn against Germany, necessitating a shift to Total War in 1942. This meant:
- Everything (resources, labour, transport) was directed solely towards the war effort.
- Factories switched entirely to armaments production.
- Women were conscripted into war labour.
- Rationing became severe, and morale, sustained by early propaganda, began to drop due to Allied bombing campaigns.
(b) The Final Solution
With the invasion of Eastern Europe, millions of Jews and other persecuted minorities came under Nazi control. The persecution escalated into mass murder (the Holocaust).
- The decision for the organised, systematic extermination of all Jews under German control was formalised at the Wannsee Conference in 1942.
- The Nazis established dedicated extermination camps (like Auschwitz and Treblinka) primarily in Poland. This policy was called the Final Solution.
- In these camps, over six million Jewish people were murdered, along with millions of other victims, via methods like gassing.
Key Takeaway: The war effort forced the Nazis to abandon some ideological policies (like keeping women out of work) but simultaneously provided the opportunity and motivation to carry out their most extreme ideological goal: the systematic genocide of the Jewish people.